Paula Bodwell Harvey

Paula Bodwell Harvey

Born 6/16/41, died 12/3/25

Paula was born in East Cleveland at Huron Road Hospital, which her grandfather built and later managed. Eldest daughter of the late George B. and Virginia K. Bodwell and older sister to her dear departed little sister Julia B. Welsh, she grew up in and lived her fullest life in Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights.

After graduating Shaker Heights High, she went on to college at Ohio Wesleyan and Baldwin-Wallace Colleges, studying teaching and physical education. Paula was a teacher with the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School System where she taught generations of children, many from the same families. Paula served as the treasurer for the Junior League of Cleveland's restoration of the Palace Theatre and revitalization of Playhouse Square. She was a lifelong member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, which gave her joy and connections to many friends and dear acquaintances.

Paula was a proud and loving mother to her son, Toby Kennedy, raising him as a single mother and always trying to do the right thing. She sacrificed to provide not just the essentials, but a full life with a wide range of opportunities and the ability to explore, grow, love and thrive...even when his actions were exasperating and he scared the living daylights out of her...sorry Mom, I love you and thank you for everything!

Paula was a constant presence in Toby's children's lives: Josh, Gabe and Sidra. From chasing her grandchildren around, building forts, climbing, playing cat & mouse and teaching them how to read, love, play tennis and cards well into her later years. Even though they lived in North Carolina while Paula lived in Ohio, she could be counted on to regularly volunteer in their classrooms and attend their games, plays, recitals, concerts, B'nai mitzvahs and graduations, and she never ever missed one of their birthday parties!

Paula was a lifelong athlete, from field hockey in school to ice skating, tennis and golf for decades. She taught Jazzercise and coached field hockey and other sports for years. Paula loved music, was an avid patron of the Cleveland Orchestra and found pleasure playing the piano. She enjoyed playing cards, cribbage, reading, and writing long letters to friends and family.

Paula found joy and love in her later marriage to Tom Harvey: assisting with and helping to edit his trilogy of the Harvey family history in the Civil War, their travels and adventures together as a couple, and the warmth of Tom's son's family--Doug & Marcie Harvey and their children Lucy, Ella, Calvin & Violet. She took great pleasure in having another opportunity to share her love, time and experiences with the additional grandchildren of her expanded family.

One can't discuss Paula without acknowledging the breadth and depth of her friendships, some of which persisted from kindergarten to the present day, and others more recent. She had her tennis group, her travel buddies, the Kappa alumnae, and a weekly lunch group of friends that continues to meet to this day. Paula loved to talk with anyone, and her prodigious memory and unfailing ability to recognize people even decades later and inquire about their children, birthdays, anniversaries and other important milestones endeared her to many. Paula truly lived in the moment and was present and attentive to her larger circle.

Most of all she loved her family from her parents George and Ginny, younger sister Julie and brother-in-law Cam Welsh, her Vossler and Bodwell cousins and their families, Toby and his family, Doug and his family, and her beloved husband Tom. She is reunited in heaven with her parents, sister, aunts & uncles, and granddaughter Lucy Harvey.

Paula faced the challenges of Parkinson's over the last several years with determination, supported by InMotion, a wonderful Parkinson's exercise and support group, tremendous physical therapists and the love and support of family and friends. Her greatest regret was what Parkinson's took in the way of her phenomenal memory, conversational abilities, physical vigor and athleticism. She was comforted to have the connections with family and friends to the end, and be able to welcome her great-grandson, Ezra George, to this world and hold him and see her legacy carry on.

May her memory always be a blessing!

Paula is remembered by and as the loving wife to Thomas W. Harvey, mother of Thomas B. "Toby" Kennedy (Sharon Freedman), grandmother of Gabriel P. Kennedy, Sidra C. Kennedy, Joshua K. Freedman (Averyl) and great-grandmother of her beloved "the Little Guy" Ezra George Freedman. She is remembered and loved by Tom's son Douglas H. Harvey (Marcie) and grandchildren Ella, Calvin and Violet.

Visitation with Family- FRIENDS MAY CALL AT BROWN-FORWARD, 17022 CHAGRIN BLVD, SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18 from 4:00-6:00 PM.

A Funeral Service will be held at Christ Church Episcopal, 21 Aurora Street, Hudson, OH on Friday, December 19, 2025, at 11:00 AM.

Reception and light luncheon to follow the service.

Facebook Live link for Service: https://wwvv.facebook.com/events/1859251074950662/

Private interment, Lake View Cemetery.

In Paula's honor, please consider a gift to InMotion - a community-based group approach to help people with Parkinson's disease feel better every day. (https://beinmotion.org/give/).